Commentary: Guardians defying the odds despite ownership's willingness to go all-in

This is one of the most illogical, inexplicable, indecipherable, impossible, ignominious, yet gloriously electrifying chapters in Cleveland sports history. No, really. What we have been witnessing this season is one of the greatest "that's flat-out impossible" moments in the history of Cleveland Sports, and the history of the Cleveland Guardians. What follows are the batting averages, at the start of play Wednesday night, of seven of the Guardians' every-day players: Bo Naylor: .176, Carlos Santana: .227, Daniel Schneemann: .234, Gabriel Arias: .235, Angel Martinez: .236, Nolan Jones: .212 and Brayan Rocchio: .230. In virtually every game the Guardians have played this season, at least seven of the above players have been in the starting lineup. Occasionally some of those above-named players need a day or two off. When that happens, those players are replaced by their replacements, and their replacements' batting averages: Austin Hedges: .128, Jhonkensy Noel: .140, Will Wilson: .167, Johnathan Rodriguez: .167 and Will Brennan: .091. On most days during the season, the Guardians' starting lineup consists of some combination of the above-named players, plus ... um, let's see here ... oh, yeah ... Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan and Kyle Manzardo. The firm of Ramirez, Kwan, and Manzardo are responsible for producing most of the big hits, home runs, and (outside of Manzardo) great defensive plays in most of the games the Guardians win. The rest of the group is made up of the above-mentioned employees, who do their best to try and help steal a win every now and then. After grazing through the batting averages of many of the Guardians' hitters mentioned above (the non-Ramirez/Kwan/Manzardo district), one can only shake one's head — or the head of the person sitting next to you — and marvel at how offensively productive the Guardians have been, despite so few run producers in what is one of the most docile lineups in the American League. Actually, it isn't one of the worst lineups in the majors, it is THE worst. The Guardians went into Wednesday night's game with a team batting average of .228, the worst team batting average in the major leagues. How can the worst-hitting team in the majors be this good at winning? Well, for starters, the Guardians three best hitters are three really good hitters, two of which — Ramirez and Manzardo — went into Wednesday night's game with a combined total of 46 homers. Ramirez and Kwan, meanwhile, are two excellent all-around hitters, who are sensational both offensively and defensively. The Guardians' three best hitters have been durable as well. In addition to their combined 55 home runs they have also collected 58 doubles. The Guardians' three batsmen have combined to start, sustain and finish numerous rallies for an offense that is otherwise in desperate need for another run producer or two. Adding another productive bat or two is easier said than done, given the team's well-established reluctance to pursue any big-ticket free agents during the offseason. They have, however, reached the postseason more consistently than one would think a franchise with, apparently, such limited desire to do so. All teams strive for the playoffs, but only a select few have the means or apparently, the desire to do what it takes to get there. To their credit, the Guardians have reached the postseason more often than other teams with the same goal. But also, for whatever reason, they never seem to go all-in to pursue a game-changing bat or two that would help get them there. Every team hopes to win, but not every team is willing to pay the price to do so. It's easy, one assumes, to sit back and let the big crowds hoping to witness another electrifying trip to the postseason be the impetus for making moves to get the team positioned for some October baseball. But not all owners are as enamored with helping create the kind of muscle and financial hustle to produce the kind of electric memories that stay with the fan base forever. One would think the homer by Rajai Davis off Aroldis Chapman in Game 7 of the World Series would have been enough to set the wheels in motion to not just continue, but attempt to accelerate that quest for a city's first World Series title in over 75 years. But those are decisions that are made by others, not by fans. Indeed, the fans are powerless when it comes to such delicious dreaming. Baseball is built on dreams, not on hopes. The dreamers buy the tickets, but it's for others to decide how vigorously to pursue the chase. Unfortunately, the vigor at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario is waning. Still. The loyalty of the fans, however, is unabated. Still. How many more Octobers will it take? How many more Rajai Davises will it take? When will the corner echo forever, instead of remaining ... still? Contact Jim Ingraham at jingraham4@gmail.com.